>> you can have the last word online at our blog. you can follow my tweets honeymoon in vegas. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, the rich and the richer. the day after mitt romney says he's not concerned about the very poor, he won the endorsement of the flauntingly rich donald trump whose catch phrase "you're fired" is something mitt romney says he likes doing. he's announced he's going with mitt. but this isn't a good day for romney. what happened in vegas won't stay in vegas. even conservatives have a question -- what's wrong with this guy? that's the headline today. the national review crushed him today.

all after his comment he's not concerned about the very poor. it was a grade-a gaffe, a universal offender, panned on the left and on the right. it has conservatives worried and progressives hopeful that mitt romney just isn't a very good politician. a huge dispute between two organizations dedicated to women's health. what's behind the decision by the susan g. komen foundation to not fund planned parenthood. and word the u.s. could end combat operations in afghanistan as early as next year has brought the usual complaints from republicans like mitt romney. but exactly how long would mitt like us to stay? until the taliban just goes away? and let me finish with a great day in politics. you can see the differences between mitt romney and president obama more clearly than ever. we start with donald trump's endorsement late today by mitt romney. dana milbank and steve kornacki join us. dana, you don't need much satire

to catch today's elements. here's trump throwing his support behind romney late today. >> it's my honor, real honor and privilege to endorse mitt romney. mitt is tough. he's smart. he's sharp. he's not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country that we all love. so, governor romney, go out and get 'em. you can do it. >> you know, it's like announcing the miss world winner. it was pure trump in the golden tower of vegas. he looked great as usual. he made his appearance. romney came out and said all the right things as if he'd just been endorsed by boss daley in the old days of chicago. he treated it like it was an actual event and not a faux event. >> this is what romney needed is to have a really rich guy on the stage, another really rich guy getting behind him. i think that's really going to solidify what he needs in this race. >> this guy flaunts his wealth. fine. but he's not in politics.

what made this guy, romney, think he benefited from this show today? >> you know, there was this time during the primary -- >> they should have put a tiara on him. >> i bet he would have done it. if romney wants to liven up, he might have his campaign spokesman. there was a time everybody wanted the trump endorsement when there was a real republican race going on. at this point heading into a general election, maybe not so much. >> steve, i want to introduce a claim we can go back to reality. in a fox news poll this past autumn, 62% of those polled said an endorsement from donald trump would make no difference in how they ended up voting. they made sense. 31% said a trump endorsement would make them less likely for the person trump endorsed. who are the 1 in 16 people that say they would more likely switch to romney after trump said he's my guy?

>> i think they are sort of the heart of the tea party base. >> the base of the base. >> i don't read this as a general election move at all. if this was a general election move, they would have pulled the sister soulja movement where he'd refuse the trump endorsement. the press would heap all this love over him and it would reassure swing voters. but this is a campaign that struggled. the entire story of the republican race is mitt romney struggled to relate to and win over the tea party base of the republican party. his campaign learned if they hadn't already learned in south carolina with newt gingrich that, you know, that danger is going to exist of a tea party insurrection in the primaries until he finally clears that magic delegate total. they watched gingrich come back from the dead once more. they think they have him right now. they probably have him right now. but donald trump has credibility with the sarah palin, herman cain, rush limbaugh wing of the republican party.

>> i respect your analysis. let's go further. let's put together some facts. i'm not leaving you on this one. mitt romney, if you believe in him, has one strength. he's a data miner. he digs deep for facts and puts all these facts together like the old mcnamara, the former secretary of defense. that got us in big trouble. let's put all this data together and figure it out without too much prethought or prejudice. okay, fine. one of the things he might have dug for is this guy is a birther. he's taking the tiara, the crown, from a guy who is a full-fledged birther. isn't anybody keeping track of this stuff, steve? that's the guy who gave him the magic wand. he's the guy that said, he's my guy. a birther. a guy who believes the president of the united states is not a citizen of the united states. wasn't born here. the guy says nobody knew him in school or college or growing up. he has a crazy mystery thing he does around the president.

that kind of full moon talking is what just endorsed the guy who is the front-runner. why does he want this endorsement? >> absolutely. that's why i take this move as the ultimate commentary as how weak mitt romney has been as a front runner. a front runner who is more secure in winning the nomination and thinking ahead to the general election would probably or conceivably take this opportunity to make the exact point you just made. listen. i want to have the support of as many people as possible, but there are some things i'm not willing to do. the sister soulja thing. when bill clinton pitched his message by turning off jesse jackson. that's what a secure nominee would do, but mitt romney is not that. >> romney takes credit for the fact, rightly or wrongly, always having had the same marital mate. having been married to the same woman for 40, 50 years. for always being in the same religion, although people should be free to change religions. conversion is fine with most americans. but he says that's good.

taking an endorsement from donald trump. here's trump. put it all together here. a birther with his history endorsing this guy. he lives a completely different life. here's trump, by the way, whacking romney. these guys are not soul brothers. let's take a look at last year. >> mitt romney is a basically small business guy. if you really think about it, he was a hedge fund. he was a fund guy. he walked away with some money from a good company that he didn't create. he worked there. he didn't create. >> he did create companies. >> well, look. he would buy companies, close companies, get rid of jobs. i built a great company. >> you know, trump i give him credit. he built a great company, but there he is, trashing, minimalizing, stomping on the notion that mitt romney is worth anything. >> right. because it's only a few hundred million dollars. >> but trying to minimize his significance. and there he is today putting the tiara on his head. why did he do it? >> why did trump do it?

trump wants to look like he's the kingmaker. romney is clearly out there. he gets out to do it. the question is why romney would accept it? it does suggest he's more worried about gingrich than a lot of us think he is. he still feels he needs to do this. >> i know why romney wants it, but why does trump do this? they used to say that things started to come down on new year's eve, that ball in times square. jack was like that. at that split moment, he knew it was the new year and would say i'm with you. does he now signal the fact that people like trump are putting their money on the fact that this guy is the nominee? is that what really it means? >> trump wants to look like the kingmaker. people talk about romney as a flip-flopper. you think about trump ran for president as a pro-choice candidate. >> good news for the republicans here. steve, is it good news for

republicans that trump now probably can't run third party having endorsed somebody else for president? i'm only talking in the crazy world where anything can happen. >> here's the good news for republicans assuming mitt romney is the nominee and can wrap up this process quickly. by not angering donald trump too much, mitt romney probably guarantees trump will not use his outsized media platform for the rest of the campaign to trash mitt romney. he will focus on president obama, probably. >> let's look at president obama today. this is the most beautiful day in american politics. one is having his honeymoon in vegas with donald trump. and here's president obama talking about the poor at the prayer breakfast today. this is how he chose to spend his day. he gave his reasoning for standing for foreign aid one of the reasons helping the poor. let's listen. >> it's also about the biblical call to care for the least of these, for the poor, for those at the margins of our society.

to answer the responsibility we're given in proverbs to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. >> so the moral majority is going with the guy in vegas? here's president obama speaking about the great billy graham. let's listen. >> one of the great honors of my life which was visiting reverend graham at his mountain top retreat in north carolina when i was on vacation with my family. this man who had prayed great prayers that inspired a nation. this man who seemed larger than life greeted me and was as kind and as gentle as could be. when he finished praying, i felt the urge to pray for him. i didn't really know what to say.

what do you pray for when it comes to the man who has prayed for so many? >> that was my reaction to billy graham. it is profound. here he is talking about it. the president of the united states at a prayer breakfast. >> almost as if he anticipated what circus was going to happen in vegas in the afternoon. >> one guy is out there playing political blackjack in vegas at the craps room and he's with the prayer breakfast talking billy graham. >> i know it will shock you to know there is some politics at the national prayer breakfast. but it was a freebie to talk about the least of these the day after mitt romney says i don't care about the poor. >> the last national bet that, steve, that donald trump made was when he bet on black or red that president obama couldn't come up with his birth certificate. he did come up with it and donald trump still stands. it's a statement about his hubris. thank you, both. dana milbank and steve kornacki. a clear day like this you can

see forever politically. coming up, the optics of today's trump endorsement aren't good for romney. it comes one day after romney said he's not really concerned about the little people, the very poor. and that has some republicans even wondering if this guy has good enough chops to even be their nominee.

speaker of the house john boehner says he and eric canter of virginia get along just fine, despite reports to the contrary. politico reported this morning that tension between boehner and cantor had gotten so bad the two sides had to call a truce. boehner said he and cantor haven't had a single disagreement in the past year. cantor is often seen as the

voice of the tea party people that can make compromise difficult for boehner.

welcome back to "hardball." the criticism of mitt romney for his incredible gaffe about poor people continued today. conservative media figures have piled on the front runner for the statement he made in a cnn interview yesterday morning. let's watch them go at him. >> i'm in this race because i care about americans. i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repaired, i'll fix it. i'm not concerned about the very rich. they are doing just fine. i'm concerned about the heart of america. the 90%, 95% of americans who are struggling. we'll hear from the democrat party the plight of the poor. there's no question, it's not good being poor. we have a safety net to help those who are very poor. but my campaign is focused on

middle-income americans. >> wow. there's so many fragments of crazy innocence that statement. the national review, the "wall street journal" and rush limbaugh blasted romney for the comment. it seems to fit a pattern with romney who has run into trouble throughout the campaign for his off the cuff comments when he's not scripted. he's now the clear front-runner in the race. will his weakness continue to haunt him now that the spotlight is on those words? howard fineman is a political analyst and susan paige is the washington bureau chief for "usa today." the whole question is why would the right care about a guy talking the way he talks? >> two things. they don't like the idea he says there's a safety net. if we need to repair it, we will. they have some questions about different programs they would like to do that might help the poor. but the other thing is are they about to nominate a guy who is so prone to gaffes. and gaffes that reinforce the biggest vulnerability that he has.

he's a rich guy who doesn't relate, doesn't understand the lives that most americans lead. >> you know in the movie "bladerunner" when they try to find fought you are a real person or not. they start asking questions. how did you feel? that kind of stuff. it's like we're all blade runners now. >> it's going to spontaneously combust at some point. >> he says things like it's not like he doesn't care about the little people. we have medicaid and those programs. they do exist. nobody is happy. they are certainly not -- as joan said the other day, they are hardly hammocks for people. they don't make their lives happy. when you say things like they are going to be there forever, that's not a good statement for a conservative to make. >> talking to people in the romney campaign. they try to make the point that lots of people, millions of people have fallen into poverty in the last few years. even though barack obama spoke

this morning about the least of these, he also has focused most of his rhetoric on the middle class. >> sure. >> but he doesn't do the things that mitt romney did yesterday. to say don't worry about the poor. they are over here in the corner. he doesn't say -- he doesn't call -- he doesn't say i'm for americans. what mitt romney said, if you parse that further, he said i'm for americans, as though the poor really weren't americans. >> the heart of america. >> the heart of america. >> that doesn't include the poor people who are the ones who deserve a little heart. >> if you go to susan's point, a lot of conservatives over the last generation have said, we have conservative answers for the problems of the poor. starting with jack kemp and others who said it's not that we don't care about the poor. we don't think that the big federal bureaucracy is the way to go. >> dare i say it, they fear he's a nincompoop. he's going to keep doing this. he'll keep talking like this. every time he's unloosened.

>> he does some things politically very well. he's run a very disciplined campaign. it stays on message. he's had a smart campaign. but he clearly has a lot of problems in kind of the guts of politicking. which is meeting people, talking to them, making them feel like he hears them. >> he doesn't hear them. >> he's got a tin ear. he's got to tune that up a little bit. >> i don't know why you're so kind today. newt gingrich tried to score political points. let's watch newt when he said what he said. >> i really believe that we should care about the very poor, unlike governor romney. but i believe we should care differently than barack obama. both governor romney and barack obama seem to believe that a safety net is all the poor need. >> you know, that's smart. once again, i jump to newt's defense. but you do it. he made a great point. jack kemp would say, don't skip the poor. get them out of poverty.

don't throw life vests to them. pull them by a rope. >> that's what the generation of conservatives was claiming they were trying to do. whether they succeeded at all with reagan and bush is a question, but they did try. but these things are related. the tin ear and lack of ideology are related. he doesn't hear the music of politics. he has no peripheral vision. he's always trying to prove now that he's a tough guy who believes in the markets which is why he says, let's let the housing market bottom out. >> so we can rent to people and corporations. >> corporations are people, my friend. >> i like to fire people. by the way, today he was with the chief firer. you seem to be sympathetic to his situation, which is what you have to be is trying to figure out what their situation is. do people like stu stevens who are around him, people who are very smart and write novels, are they going to get the look from them like the mother who goes to the kid, you just did it again.

i got the call from the teacher. do they have to tell him when he blows it? >> i think this was inartfully put. i think there some are people around him who are blunt. i think chris christie has become a blunt adviser behind the scenes. he speaks in the way chris christie does to all of us, which is pretty unmistakable. the other thing you were showing the clip with newt gingrich. newt gingrich had a great image right after the clip you showed. i don't want a safety net. i want a trampoline for the poor. which is a great image and one that would put democrats on the spot. >> it would say a lot of the old neighborhoods have been poor for a long time. you democrats have been so-called representatives of those districts and you haven't improved a lot of those people in those neighborhoods. >> chris christie notwithstanding most of the people around mitt romney are telling him, it's the media. watch out. one of them told me yesterday, he had said this before. why are you guys making a big deal of it now?

>> blame the messenger. let's take a look at the strong reaction on the right in the conservative media. jonah goldberg wrote, the underemphasized dynamic in this race isn't that romney isn't conservative enough. it's that he's not a good enough politician. he may be the most electable on paper, but every time he seems to get into his groove and pull away, he says things that make people think he doesn't know how to play the game." that's pretty cynical but he made his point. "the wall street journal" wrote "like twain said of wagner's music, mr. romney is better than he sounds." on the conservative blog red state, eric erickson wrote, i'm not sure i'll waste my time defending romney in a general election. sure, i'll vote for him, but i think i'll focus on house and senate races so when the buyer's remorse sets in on those who did screwed down the ballot. this doesn't surprise me from him. he's pretty far over. >> here's the thinking among those people.

they are thinking, we don't love mitt romney. okay. he's a massachusetts moderate. he's trying to make himself a conservative. but if we're going to take him, let's at least have a good politician. let's have a guy who is good at being a politician. if he's not with him idealogically, what grounds are the conservatives going to september him? that's what jonah goldberg and the others are saying. laur inggram, she said is he hopeless? she said, no, he's not hopeless, but he's not there yet. >> look at the rap sheet. i should tell my story. i'm also unemployed. we could raise taxes on people. corporations are people, my friend. >> my friend, i like that. >> let's look at it on tape. here is some of his chain of infamy here. >> i should tell my story. i'm also unemployed. we could raise taxes on people.

corporations are people, my friend. rick, i'll tell you what. $10,000? $10,000 bet. >> i'm not in the betting business. >> i know what it's like to worry whether you're going to get fired. there were a couple of times i worried whether i was going to get a pink slip. it also means if you don't like what they, do you can fire them. i like to fire people who provide services to me. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. i'm not concerned about the rich. the rich are doing just fine. >> a good ad for obama. >> that's terrible string of things. but rick perry is a really good politician. where's he? he's out of the race. other great politicians out of the field and mitt romney as emerged as the likely nominee. but this is a weakness he needs to try to deal with. >> the best there is. this is as good as it gets. thank you, susan and howard.

up next, another awkward moment for the mittster. the side show is coming up next. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. [ female announcer ] the best things in life are the real things. nature valley trail mix bars are made with real ingredients you can see. like whole roasted nuts, chewy granola, and real fruit. nature valley trail mix bars. 100% natural. 100% delicious.

back to "hardball." now to the sideshow. old pals and a former college buddy of bill clinton. he appeared on "morning joe" to discuss his new book. little did he know his friend would be dialing in. want to know what the former president was like as a college freshman? here's bill clinton and his old friend thomas caplin talk about the georgetown days. >> we became friends as an accident of the alphabet. the university said they placed you with students from a diverse background and from all over the country. we discovered everybody on the corridor went from bastion to duffy. >> when i met him, he was sitting in a rocking chair at 18

as i remember listening to the music from "gone with the wind." >> did he like to hold court and talk to people back then for long periods of time? >> loquacious in the best way. >> i think half the people i knew at georgetown i knew because i knew bill clinton. >> that's well said. there's a friendship there that's stood the test of time. but clinton hung up on the phone before the subject turned to presidential politics. hardly. here's what he said about today's candidates and how they seem to like one of his own greatest strengths. he's one that cut them some slack. let's listen. >> you go back to the history of the country to be fair. we have had a number of presidents, some of whom did remarkable things, who cared about people in general but had a hard time relating to them. programs like this bring it all home to people. it's harder to pull off. but we have had a lot of presidents that were awkward and

with people individually, but cared a great deal about what happened to the country. because of the immediacy of the modern media, we need to make sure we're raising people who do that. >> i think he's talking about people like woodrow wilson. who people said liked everybody but nobody in particular. next up, party crasher mitt romney had an unwelcomed guest to contend with during an event in minnesota. a protester unexpectedly showered him with glitter. it wasn't one of the first times a candidate was glitter bombed. but his follow-up stands alone. here's how he responded to that protester. >> there's the guy. wave your hand over there who threw the glitter. there he goes. how are you? hi there. how are you? good to see you. i'm happy for a little celebration. this is confetti. we just won florida. we're just going to win the white house next. i have glitter in my hair. that's not all that's in my hair. i'll tell you that. i glue it on every morning

whether i need to or not. >> i have no idea what that means. the collection of awkward jokes by romney just keeps getting bigger. up next, the obama administration announced that u.s. combat operations in afghanistan will stop as early as next year. and republicans like mitt romney were quick to criticize. bin laden is dead. do they want us to stay in afghanistan forever? this is "hardball."

we are back. the end to an unpopular war seems to be a little closer in view. secretary of defense leon panetta told reporters yesterday that the u.s. was looking to transition from a combat role in afghanistan to a training and advisory role by next year. that's a year ahead of when nato has agreed to end its mission in afghanistan and pull out all combat troops from the country. there's 90,000 troops still fighting that war. the american public is overwhelmingly uneasy with how things are going. what does this mean and how successful have we been? in combatting the taliban. matthew is a former marine. i think you are always a marine. and state department officer. and steve clemmons is washington editor at large at the atlantic. great to have expertise on. i want to have an understanding.

the understanding is the significance of this leak, the statement by the secretary of defense. >> it's a big change in policy. we were going to do combat until the end of 2014. we moved it up. 18 months. it's a big change and it's a good thing. it's the right thing to do. escalating the war -- >> what caused him to make the announcement? >> because escalating the war has failed. the surge has not worked. the taliban is larger than they were two years ago. karzai is weaker. we have worse relationships with the pakistanis. and al qaeda is not there. so we had 5500 americans killed and wounded in afghanistan last year. and for what? >> here's my fundamental question about life and death. before we went to afghanistan in 2001 after 9/11, rightly or wrongly, we went in there and overthrew the taliban. before we went there, the taliban was in charge. how will it be any different than when we leave? without our presence, they ran the show. without our presence again, won't they end up running the

show? >> they are going to try to leave some residual force to shape what the choices are for the taliban and other political players. as vice president biden said, last time we had a snift strategy, we're snow longer out to beat the taliban. we're out to shape choices. that means they will try to prevent anyone from being able to overthrow the regime in kabul. you'll have a mix of warlords, a mix of taliban-run operations. the invisible hand that's behind this -- >> lebanon? >> it will be like lebanon. you have the foreign minister coming out and endorse the peace talks going on. my bet is that this is not just a shift in strategy. this is a posturing statement confidence building with taliban. >> what will this do with karzai's government. they won't have big brother there. i don't mean that derogatorily because our guys have paid in life and blood for this thing. but here's the question. once we leave and it's clear the clock is ticking, will karzai say, they're going to be gone next year.

can he deal with the taliban or will he take over? >> he has to. and this is what -- this is why the u.s. saying we are leaving is a good thing for negotiations because it makes the conflict go to its next phase. this has been going on for 30, 35 years. >> i raise that because mitt romney said that's the wrong thing to do. by signaling that we're leaving by a date certain gives the enemy the information. but as you're pointing out, it gives allies the information. >> when i was there working with the government, they had no interest in reconciling. we were propping up and making them rich too. so this pushes karzai to have to deal with the insurgency. it also takes away that big unifying factor for the insurgency. the taliban is a discredited religious movement that's now an army of national liberation because there's 140,000 foreign troops in afghanistan. you take away those foreign troops and some of that support for the taliban.

>> do you buy the taliban is weaker? >> it's not the question of weaker. we're in a silo talking about afghanistan. what i think is right about what the president is doing is this is the first time of a strategic play as opposed to being stuck in a silo. if you ask the question if we were there for five years or ten years longer, america's strategic strength would be sapped even more. that iran and china would be convinced -- >> that's my question. if you were a more conservative president and said, no, keep the troops there. my question to that person -- five more years would do what for us? what would ten more years do? >> ten years more would fuel the ambitions of iran. make china feel america was militarily overextended and stuck in a trap. what you need to do, and what america is doing, and you have seen it in general dempsey's statement in the repositioning towards asia. we've seen a strategic rebalancing of u.s. forces.

getting out of things that are convincing the world we're weak and it may look like we're stepping back a bit. it's not the question of afghanistan making america weak or strong. if you're stuck militarily overdeployed spending $120 billion a year, that's not a sign of strength. >> are we shifting our resources to the far east? >> yes. >> so we're confronting what we see as a strategic threat from china? is that going to get us into a deeper problem with chinese who think we are out to limit them? >> we see that already getting back to afghanistan and pakistan. we made an announcement to have a relationship with india. which is pakistan's chief rival. you see how it influences us with our afghan policy. >> you think it's a smart move by the president? >> absolutely. >> i think because iran and other tough neighborhoods need to see u.s. has resources to shape the region. and being stuck in afghanistan, dependent on pakistan, we are dependent on very difficult allies.

>> i like when presidents make decisions. not the military commanders because the military commanders make decisions for different reasons entirely. thank you for your service and thanks. up next, let's get to the root of that fight between susan g. komen foundation and planned parenthood. this is "hardball" on msnbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] you never know when a moment might turn into something more. and when it does men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. ♪ [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach,

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washington state is set to be the next state to allow same sex marriage. the senate voted 28-21 to legalize marriage between same-sex partners. the measure moves to the house where it has majority support. the governor says she will sign it into law when the time comes. it's already legal in six states. connecticut, iowa, massachusetts, new hampshire, new york, and vermont, and washington, d.c. we'll be right back.

welcome back to "hardball." a battle brewing against two women's health organizations

after the susan g. komen foundation announced they will no longer fund grants for breast exams at planned parenthood. the komen foundation says the change is a result of a new grant criteria which includes no longer funding organizations being investigated. planted parenthood is under investigation on capitol hill by a pro-life congressman. supporters believe politics is at play and that the komen foundation bowed under pressure from the right. with me are two democratic congresswomen, loretta sanchez of california and alleyson schwartz of pennsylvania. congressman schwartz, give us a layout on what just happened because a lot of people were completely caught off guard by what seemed to be a good relationship between the susan g. komen foundation and planned parenthood that's just come apart here. >> i can tell you many of us are disappointed and outraged that the action that was just taken. but the komen foundation made a

decision to no longer give funding that they do and have been doing for years to planned parenthood. what they fund are breast exams to help detect cancer and do really wonderful work in terms of breast cancer screenings. they have said because planned parenthood is under investigation by a subcommittee in congress, they are not going to fund planned parenthood to do this very important women's health work. nothing has been found. we don't even know what happens with the investigation, but the komen foundation made the decision. a lot of women in this country are outraged about it. >> it seems like a bogus case. congresswoman sanchez, an investigation by congress -- congress investigates all the time. they are not investigating for criminal behavior. it's over questions of going over the border of giving abortions or whatever. using government money for abortions. it seems to me using money -- it seems this under investigation thing has a dirty sound to it

when in fact it's hardly a reason to cut funding here. >> planned parenthood has always been strict about how it spends the money that it receives from the federal government. and it is, you know, one of the most sought-after resources by young women because so many women do not have health care. it's sort of their primary doctor in the sense that they will go into a planned parenthood clinic and get their yearly exam. so to cut this off -- for the komen foundation to cut these moneys off i think is really sad. what you're talking about is not just finding the cure, which is a great reason to be. there's been a lot of money raised on that and a lot matched from the federal government to try to find a cure for breast cancer. but when you do to make sure you never even get to that spot. make sure that you have annual exams.

so these went hand in hand and it seems a seems a shame that out of nowhere, while most of us think it was because of this new vice president that started over at the foundation, the komen foundation, who is very, of course, anti-planned parenthood, and vowed when she ran for the governorship of georgia, of course she lost, saying that she would shut -- that she would stop all funding, all of these types of grants to planned parenthood if she were in office. >> well, one thing i think the men out there aren't aware of this, ought to know now, you can tell them, i'll tell them what i learned today, it is an inexpensive way to get a breast examination. if you don't get it early, you'll get problems, horrible problems in some cases. you want to get a breast exam very early in this game and hopefully you're safe. and if you have to deal with it, you deal with it. anybody who thinks that's not good for a country must not be paying attention. here is an interview andrea mitchell, with ambassador nancy brinker, here she is talking on the hill about the investigation

as being the only factor in their decision to stop funding planned parenthood. >> investigation isn't the only issue, andrea. in 2010, we set about creating excellence in our grants, not just in our community grants, but in our science grants, putting metrics, outcomes and measures to them so that we can translate all of this science that we funded over 30 years. manufacture the grant many of the grants we were doing with planned parenthood do not meet standard of criteria of how to meet the effectiveness in communities. >> it didn't seem like the way you communicate a thought because it didn't communicate a thought. >> yeah, i really -- what we all know and i hope we agree is that making sure that women, young women -- women of all ages have access to the kind of health screenings, the health care that we need, and as congresswoman sanchez pointed out many women, thousands of women, in our

communities, go to planned parenthood for regular health screenings and cancer is a worry for everyone. certainly breast cancer is a worry for just about every woman in this country. and making sure that they have access to the proper screenings and information, and knowing how to best take care of themselves is important and what planned parenthood has done across the country. the komen foundation has been funding the breast cancer screenings at planned parenthood. i understand it was a very good relationship and all of a sudden, and this afternoon they said the reason was because of this investigation. which is a pretty scary thought, that any member of congress can call for an investigation, start an investigation, and that somehow snowballs just because of false accusations. look, there are people -- members of congress who are willing to shut down the government over the discussion about planned parenthood. and we didn't let that happen and americans, really millions of americans spoke up about how outrageous it was. because they want to see access to women's health care across this country and planned parenthood is part of that.

>> you know, chris -- >> we only have 10 or 15 seconds here. go ahead. >> in some cases the planned parenthood clinic is the only medical clinic available for people who don't have the means who don't have a doctor, who don't have health insurance and so many areas where places have closed down. so it is very important to keep them open and to have those screenings happen because the sooner we detect, the easier it is to -- the more life there is left to a person. >> i've been hearing that people are very comfortable, women going into the planned parenthood organizations, institutions, and facilities, it is a very popular organization. this is a sad story for everybody. thank you, congresswoman loretta sanchez and congresswoman allyson schwartz who does an excellent job representing my old neighborhood of summerton. the 58th ward, with the stark contrast between mitt romney and president obama, what did they declare to see forever. you could see the whole situation develop today from vegas to across the country. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc.

let me finish tonight with this. was a great day in american politics. in other words, one of those clear days when you can see forever. when the differences between the two parties stands right up there for all to see. did you see donald trump out there with his new prize

candidate? did you see mitt romney standing up there like he'd just won the miss world contest. the latest prize figure in the world of donald trump. a world of golden buildings and high-rise casinos where it's hard to find the elevators where all you can see are the endless rows of slot machines, black jack and roulette wheels. we americans just want to make it to the elevators, donald. why your trying to hook us into the latest games that all favor the house. no, life isn't a casino and most people can't afford to do business with trump. and like those very poor that never come through that door, even though some people leave those casinos in that category of very poor. those very poor are not on romney's radar. he says he's not even thinking about them. they have their safety net, he argues and don't need our attention. they aren't going to be part of the we the people under his presidency. we, those people, are going to be the folks a bit better off, of course. mitt's looking for the upscale crowd to put him into office. that hidden crowd way back

behind the scenes who pay for all those millions of dollars of dirtball tv ads he used to stop newt gingrich with in places like des moines and daytona. they are the folks he's going to pay attention to and their need to get a better tax deal. an even better one that has him paying less than 15% in taxes on $20 million a year. that allows him to hide his money in the caymans. those are the folks he likes. president obama, where was he today? well, on mitt and donald's big day in vegas he was having a prayer breakfast talking about our duty to the poor and the wonders of that good man billy graham. that's where the president of all the people was. where we want him to be. not in vegas with trump. not in the caymans making his latest deposit. not hiding from the very poor out of sheer hope they won't be counting on a president like him to be looking out for poor people like him. as i said, what a great day in politics where you can see all the way to vegas where donald makes his money and to those islands in the caribbean, where his new best friend, mitt romney, hides his money from uncle sam, and, of course, the er